How to Make Sauerkraut Recipe in a Crock

Homemade old-fashioned fermented sauerkraut in a stoneware crock after it has fermented.

5 from 2 votes

How to Make Sauerkraut Recipe in a Crock

Homemade old-fashioned sauerkraut is easy to make with simple ingredients in a traditional fermentation crock. The basic recipe is just cabbage and salt but you can add other vegetables and seasonings. As a general rule, use 2-3% salinity for traditionally fermented vegetables.

Prep Time20

Fermentation Time28

Total Time28 20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: German

Keyword: homemade sauerkraut recipe, sauerkraut recipe crock, easy sauerkraut recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 10kcal

Author: Kaity Farrell

Ingredients

4 lbs cabbage 1800g, or 1 large head
5 oz carrots optional, or more cabbage
5 oz cucumber optional, or more cabbage
5 oz radish optional, or more cabbage
45 g salt kosher salt or sea salt
2 tablespoons turmeric powder optional
3 garlic cloves optional
2 inch piece of ginger root optional
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
2 heads flowering dill optional, or flowering fennel
2 teaspoons coriander seeds optional

Optional for Crispness

1 large horseradish leaf or several grape leaves, cherry leaves or oak leaves

Instructions

Prep the ingredients: wash the cabbage, vegetables, ginger root and fresh herbs well. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and peel the carrots if they are mature. Peel the garlic cloves.
Shred the washed cabbage and vegetables using a box grater or food processor with a slicer or grater blade. Add the shredded veggies to a large mixing bowl.
Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Smash ginger with a mallet or flat edge of a kitchen knife. Add them along with the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix everything together using spoons or clean hands. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to let the juices release from the veggies.
Pack the sauerkraut mixture into a clean fermentation crock or large glass mason jars. Pour any extra juices in the bowl over the mixture.
Cover the sauerkraut mixture with the horseradish leaf or other tannin-rich leaves to help retain the crispness of the veggies.
Press the sauerkraut mixture down with fermentation weights until it is submerged in its own juices. The brine should cover the mixture by at least 1".
Cover the fermentation crock with the lid and let veggies ferment on counter-top at room temperature for anywhere from 2-8+ weeks. Check it periodically to make sure veggies are submerged in liquid, and for spoilage. It should smell pleasantly sour, not off-putting or moldy.
Taste it at 2 weeks and weekly thereafter until it is fermented to your tastes. At that point, remove and discard the leaves if used. Pack the fermented sauerkraut into sterilized mason jars and seal them with plastic lids. Store the jars in the refrigerator.

Video

Notes

Sauerkraut will keep for months if properly stored in the refrigerator.
As a general rule of thumb use 2-3% salt by weight of the total weight of the cabbage and vegetables used.

Nutrition